On this date in 1955, the 11th Ryder Cup Match ended at Thunderbird Ranch & C.C. in Palm Springs, California, with the United States winning 8-4 over Great Britain. Chick Harbert was the captain in this seventh straight American victory; Dai Rees led GB. On this date in 1966, Arnold Palmer shot a final-round 68 at the Dunlop International and tied for first but lost a playoff. Palmerr shot scores of 78-75-73-68—294, but lost to Bob Stanton in a two-hole, sudden-death playoff at Kensington (72, 6,758), Sydney, Australia. Palmer won $1,120.
Walter Hagen won his fourth straight PGA Championship on this date in 1927, winning at Cedar Crest Country Club in Dallas in a thrilling 1-up victory over Joe Turnesa. It was the 10th playing of the PGA Championship and Hagen’s fifth overall PGA. In 1967 on this date, Arnold Palmer finished tied for 19th at the Hawaiian Open at four-over-par 72-74-74-72—292. The winner at a score of 284 was Dudley Wysong in a playoff, at Waialae C.C. in Honolulu. Arnie picked up $1,150.
On this date in 1951, the Ryder Cup ended at Pinehurst Resort with the U.S. defeating Great Britain, 9½-2½. Sam Snead was the playing captain for the Americans; Arthur Lacey was the non-playing leader for Great Britain. On this date in 1965, Arnold Palmer’s article on “Why I Want My Daughters to Play Golf” was published in a European publication. Also, in 1977, Palmer shot a second-round 66 with partner Leonard Thompson at the Disney World Nat’l Team Ch., but the pair missed the cut by four.
On this date in 1957, Arnold Palmer won the San Diego Open, scoring rounds of 65-68-68-70—271. His first-place money: $2,800. In 1974, Palmer shot a final-round 67 with partner Lanny Wadkins in the Disney World National Team Ch. and tied for 25th. Also, Jack Westland, the 1952 U.S. Amateur winner, died on this date in 1982 at Pebble Beach, California. He won 12 other major amateur golf events and went on to serve 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On this day in 1947 the Ryder Cup ended at Portland Golf Club in Oregon with the U.S. winning the first post World War II match, 11-1, over Great Britain in a modest two-day affair. The playing captains were Ben Hogan and Henry Cotton. On this date in 2009, 80-year-old Arnold Palmer presented Dwight Eisenhower into the World Golf Hall of Fame this night in a program called, “Arnie Honors Another Golfer Who Had Army.”
Happy 90th birthday to South African Gary Player who was born on this date in 1935, six years after Arnold Palmer but four ahead of Jack Nicklaus; the three would become the Big Three in global golf. Player won nine majors. Also, on this date in 1974, Arnold Palmer and partner Lanny Wadkins shot a 63 in the Walt Disney World National Team Championship. That followed a first-round 67. They shot 66 and 67 in the final two rounds to tie for 25th.
On this date in 1963, Arnold Palmer was set free from his contentious nine-year contract with Wilson as it expired on Halloween that year. In 1968, Palmer shot a first-round 70 in the Australian PGA and would tie for sixth after adding rounds of 77-75-71—293 the next three days. Also, 1959 Masters Champion Art Wall Jr. died on this date in 2001 of respiratory failure. He was known for the prolific feat of making 44 holes-in-one.
On this date in 1966, Arnold Palmer won the Australian Open at 20 under par. Also, on this date in 1988, Beth Daniel won the Nichirei Ladies Cup U.S.-Japan Team Golf Championship by two shots over Rosie Jones, shooting five under par. It was held at Country Club the Lakes, Ibaragi-Ken, Japan.
On this date in 1972, Arnold Palmer shot a final-round 69 to finish second in the Sahara Invitational. He had scores of 65-69-71-69—274 for second place, worth $15,400. Also today, big-hitting Jimmy Thomson, who finished runner-up in the 1935 U.S. Open and 1936 Masters, was born on this date in 1908 in North Berwick, Scotland.
On this date in 1973, Arnold Palmer played in his final Sahara Invitational, shooting a fourth-round 73 for an overall 283 total and tie for 20th and $1,338.66 in prize money. Also, standout player, teacher, and golf ambassador Peggy Kirk Bell was born on this date 104 years ago in Findlay, Ohio.
Tiger Woods won the debut of the ZoZo Championship on this date in 2019 by three strokes over Hideki Matsuyama at the Accordia Golf & Country Club. In so doing he tied Sam Snead's record of 82 PGA victories. On this date in 1996, the U.S. LPGA defeated Japan, 21½-14½, in the Nichirei International Golf Tournament at Ami Golf Club.
On this date in 1969, Arnold Palmer shot a 67 in the final round of the San Francisco Open, giving him a total of 277 and a tie for 27th, worth $681.43. On this date in 1975, Mary Bea Porter completed a wire-to-wire victory with a final-round, three-over-par 76 and a 72-hole total of 287 in the Golf Inns of America tournament at the Whispering Palms course. She finished five under par for four rounds and three strokes ahead of runnerup Donna Young. Porter's first-place money of $5,700 more than doubled the $4,935 she had won In 22 events in 1975 to that point.
One of golf’s saddest days in history was on this date in 1999 when three-time major champion Payne Stewart was among the victims of a jet plane crash in Mina, South Dakota, at age 42. On this date in 1967, Arnold Palmer shot a first-round 76 in the Sahara Invitational at Paradise Valley Country Club in Las Vegas. That included putting a ball in the water and one out-of-bounds. Properly stimulated, he roared back into the mix with a pair of 68s in Rounds 2 and 3 but shot over par in the final round with 72, giving him a 284 total and a tie for 34th. Jack Nicklaus won with a 270 total.
On this date in 1957, Arnold Palmer played Round 1 of the Hesperia Open, shooting a 68. He followed that with rounds of 71-70-70—279 to tie for third and earn $1,033.33. And Ian Baker-Finch, one of the tallest major champions ever at 6-4, was born on this date in 1960 in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. IBF, who retired this year as an analyst for CBS, won the 1991 Open Championship. The tallest major winner was George Archer, nearly 6-6, who won the 1969 Masters.
On this date in 1994, the Solheim Cup ended at The Greenbrier with the U.S. regaining the Cup and beating Europe, 13-7. Winning three times each during the week to lead the U.S. were Brandie Burton and Dottie Mochrie (Pepper). On this date in 1982, Arnold Palmer shot a third-round 68 at the Lancome Trophy in Paris and finished T-4.
One of the biggest beatdowns in Ryder Cup history finished on this date in 1967 at Champions Golf Club in Houston when the U.S. defeated Great Britain 23½-8½. Texas legend Ben Hogan captained the Americans. Among the big Day 3 winners was Arnold Palmer, who defeated Tony Jacklin, 3 and 2, in morning Singles and Brian Huggett, 5 and 3, in the afternoon. Palmer had a won-loss-tied record of 5-0-0 that year and to date had a four-match composite record of 16-4-1.
On this date in 1967, the second day of the Ryder Cup was held at Champions Golf Club in Houston. The American team took a 13-3 overall lead after it won 7.5 of 8 points in eight four-ball matches. In the afternoon, a match highlight was Yanks Arnold Palmer and Julius Boros beating George Will and Hugh Boyle, 1 up. Also, Willie Anderson, the first four-time winner of the U.S. Open, was born on this date in North Berwick, Scotland in 1879. He won the championship in 1901, 1903-1905.
In 1967, Day 1 of the Ryder Cup was held at Champions Golf Club in Houston. After morning and afternoon foursomes, the U.S. led 5.5 to 2.5. Arnold Palmer was among the big winners. He and Gardner Dickinson defeated Peter Alliss-Christy O’Connor Sr., 2 and 1, in the a.m. and downed Malcolm Gregson-Hugh Boyle, 5 and 4, in the afternoon.. Also, American golf star Danielle Kang was born on this date in 1992 in San Francisco. She attended Pepperdine, won the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Amateur and as a pro won the Women’s PGA in 2017.
On this date in 1972, Arnold Palmer shot a 66 in the first round of the Kaiser International. He would shoot 67 in Round 2, but finish 75-74 to tie for 11th. Also, Lew Worsham, the winning benefactor of the 1947 U.S. Open when Sam Snead missed a short putt on the final hole in a disputed “out of turn” moment, died on this date in 1990 at age 73.
On this date in 1980, Arnold Palmer played one of his late-career PGA Tour events. He was paired with Larry Nelson in the Disney World National Team Championship. After rounds of 68-67 the twosome blitzed in with a 65 in Round 3 for a 200 total. But that was not good enough for the duo to make the cut for the final round. And the “other Watson” outside major champions Tom and Bubba is Denis Watson, who was born on this date in 1955 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was the notable 1985 U.S. Open runner-up.